If taking care of Goldie the Goldfish just seems to be a bit too much, it's important to find a proper rehoming solution rather than just flushing her down the toilet. According to HuffPost, that's because in many cases, live goldfish can end up in the waterways and grow to a tremendous size! Goldfish can survive year-round in watersheds and can destroy the habitat of native fish. In fact, scientists estimate that tens of millions of goldfish now live in the Great Lakes.